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A senior al Qaeda figure in Yemen was killed in an air strike, reports said Friday. The U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki was killed with several other suspected al Qaeda operatives, the Yemeni defense ministry said.

Tribal sources told AFP that Awlaki was killed in an air strike which hit two vehicles in Marib province early Friday. The 40-year-old, who was born in New Mexico, was linked to the 2009 Christmas Day "underwear bomber" plot.

He was also linked to the failed Times Square bomb attempt in May last year and the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting, in which 13 people were killed by a gunman at the US Army base.